He Understands...and It Matters

Introduction

It is normal to want to live. God put within every one of us the survival instinct and Jesus, being fully human, had it as well. He enjoyed His life, His ministry and so many of the wonderful opportunities His life brought.

Jesus loved people! He enjoyed preaching, teaching and healing the sick. He loved seeing people come to faith in Him. He enjoyed His friends and family. Jesus had a life and, just like us, wanted to continue living. But He knew He was born to die.

Jesus also knew what kind of death lay in store for Him. He wasn’t just going to die; He was going to die in the most horrific way the Romans had ever devised. Jesus knew He was headed to the Cross.

When we're stressed or staring danger in the face, the brain's hypothalamus is activated. It initiates a series of chemical releases and nerve cell responses that gets us ready for the impending scenario. Adrenaline is released into the blood stream, our heart rate increases, blood is pumped more quickly into our muscles and limbs. Our awareness, sight and impulses all intensify and quicken.

Jesus had this physical response when considering what lay ahead for Him. Thus His response in this passage...

Now My Heart is Troubled — The word translated “heart” means “soul” or “life.” Jesus is saying more than He was emotionally troubled.

“He is saying that the very core of His human person is naturally resistant to the coming pain and death. This is a spiritual battle, a battle between survivalistic instincts God has purposely built into human beings and the course of obedience that calls Jesus to the Cross.”

The verb translated “troubled” signifies revulsion, horror, anxiety and agitation.

At the core of His being Jesus felt horror, anxiety and revulsion at what lay ahead of Him. His humanity did not want anything to do with the cross. It meant suffering and no human being that has ever lived, even the Son of Man, is naturally inclined to receive suffering without such an emotional response.

Jesus Experientially Understands Us

Does it change your life to know that Jesus felt what you have felt when He was living on the earth? That He enjoyed life, wanted to live and felt anxiety and revulsion at the thought of dying and doing so on the cross?

Does it help you to know that God felt your emotional turmoil when He walked this earth and breathed this air as a human being.

The incarnation was no magical illusion. God became a man. He was a man like as we are yet without sin. He was fully man and fully divine. We cannot separate Him from His humanity and see Him as a sufficient offering for our sin. Only God born fully human could be the sacrifice for sin.

So what does this mean for us???

Jesus understands you. He understands your joy and pain; understands your victories and defeats; your anxiety and emotional turmoil. He understands when you suffer. Why? Because He experienced all of them in His life just as you do now.

This makes Jesus’ next statement all the more meaningful for us, all the more powerful...

“What shall I say” — Verses 27-28 — “How shall I respond to this natural survival instinct and what it is physically producing in my body right now?

Jesus teaches us how to respond to the emotional moments of life. Those times of pain, suffering and uncertainty. The times of horror, anxiety and revulsion at what life throws at us…Father glorify Your name

Remember Why You Are Here

Remember why your here — This is what we do in the impossible, horrible, terrible, anxious moments of life. We remember our higher purpose and opportunity of life…to glorify God.

We are a child of God and as such we represent Him while we live on earth. And we do that best when we glorify Him.

Glorify — Praise and worship God. Make Him known and honor Him. Reveal His character and power.

On March 23, 1743, when “The Messiah” was first performed in London, the king was present in the great audience. It is reported that all were so deeply moved by the “Hallelujah Chorus” that with the impressive words, “For the Lord God omnipotent reigneth,” the whole audience, including the king sprang to its feet, and remained standing through the entire chorus. From that time to this it has always been the custom to stand during the chorus whenever it is performed. With spontaneous joy the soul stands to salute Him who “cometh in the name of the Lord.” He is “King of kings, and Lord of lords” and to Him we pledge allegiance.

On March 23, 1743, when “The Messiah” was first performed in London, the king was present in the great audience. It is reported that all were so deeply moved by the “Hallelujah Chorus” that with the impressive words, “For the Lord God omnipotent reigneth,” the whole audience, including the king sprang to its feet, and remained standing through the entire chorus. From that time to this it has always been the custom to stand during the chorus whenever it is performed. With spontaneous joy the soul stands to salute Him who “cometh in the name of the Lord.” He is “King of kings, and Lord of lords” and to Him we pledge allegiance.

Sometimes glorifying God is a spontaneous act of joy. A celebration of what God has done for us. A celebration of His character and power. But it actually is something we do with the whole of our being and in every moment of our lives, good and bad.

c There is an old Jewish legend which says that, after God had created the world, He called the angels to Him and asked them what they thought of it; and one of them said, “One thing is lacking: the sound of praise to the Creator.” So God created music, and it was heard in the whisper of the wind, and in the song of the birds; and to man also was given the gift of song. And all down the ages this gift of song has indeed proved a blessing to multitudes of souls.

As man and God Jesus represented the Father while He was on earth. He was the exact representation of the character of God.

Hebrews 1:3 HCSB

The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact expression of His nature, sustaining all things by His powerful word. After making purification for sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high.

“The purpose of God in creating the universe is to display the greatness of the glory of his grace supremely in the suffering of his Son.” — John Piper

So Jesus prays, “Father, glorify your name.” — Knowing that one of His roles on earth was to reveal the character, power and nature of the Father while He walked on earth He prayed that He would do so to an even greater degree during His most difficult of moments.

During our moments of suffering we have this unique opportunity as well…to make much of God…to reveal His character and power.

If you are struggling with money, health, relationships, your marriage, you are bored with your job, you hate your boss, your favorite team’s QB throws an interception at the most inopportune of times…each provides a unique moment when you might represent God and the power of His Spirit within you.

How? Because you react differently due to the relationship you have with God…because of the reality of His Spirit’s power within you.

Life is different when you have Jesus. It is different when you are living in relationship with God and the power of the Holy Spirit. When we show the difference we are revealing to the world God’s existence, power and nature.

The Father’s response — When Jesus prayed the Father responded that He had glorified Himself in the life of Jesus and that He would do so again.

This voice was heard by the people around Jesus and the message was for their benefit; so they might believe in Jesus. It confirmed the prophecy Jesus spoke in verses 31-32 which was the specific fulfillment of what the Father spoke in verse 28.

The Father was going to glorify His name in Jesus and would do so through the Cross. The Cross would be the means by which the ruler of this world would be defeated

The Cross would mean judgement upon he world. All of humanity would be divided between those who come to the cross by faith, are saved and live in the light and all of those who reject the cross, live in darkness and are lost.

The Cross would also mean the unseating of Satan. He would be dethroned and defeated by the very means through which he thought himself to be the victor. He thought he was destroying Christ in the Cross but in reality he was destroying himself.

God was going to glorify Himself through the redemption of man through Jesus but it would come at a cost...

The Cost

When we pray for God to get glory from our life it is a prayer of death to self. It is the putting of our life into His hands and living for something and someone bigger than ourselves. We put ourselves at His disposal and our life is not our own.

God had glorified Himself through Jesus in many ways up to this point: incarnation, baptism, healings, raising the dead, teaching/preaching and His love of people. Now the Father would glorify the Son and Himself by redeeming mankind through the Cross. The Son of man would be lifted up.

Most of us, most of the time, we can point to the blessings and prosperity as means by which God has chosen to glorify Himself in us. But we have a higher calling than a life of ease and financial prosperity...

John Piper — Today the summons: Will you join the Son in displaying the supreme satisfaction of the glory of grace in joining him on the Calvary road of suffering? Because there’s no other way the world is going to see the supreme glory of Christ today except that we break free from the Disneyland of America and begin to live lifestyles of missionary sacrifice that looks to the world like our treasure is in heaven and not on the earth. It’s the only way.

The prosperity gospel will not make anybody praise Jesus. It will make people praise prosperity. Of course, I’ll have a Jesus who’ll give me a car. Who wouldn’t want a Jesus who gives me health, a car, a fine marriage? I’ll take your Jesus if the payoff is right.

The prosperity gospel will not make anybody praise Jesus. It will make people praise prosperity. Of course, I’ll have a Jesus who’ll give me a car. Who wouldn’t want a Jesus who gives me health, a car, a fine marriage? I’ll take your Jesus if the payoff is right.

All of us are going to experience moments when glorifying God happen through sacrifice and loss. When that time comes trust the Father and live out your life purpose. Live to glorify God. Take up your cross and follow Jesus…live like He did. Make much of Him in the good times and the bad…the easy times and the hard…during those times of joy and those of suffering.

When that time comes trust the Father and live out your life purpose. Live to glorify God. Make much of Him in the good times and the bad…the easy times and the hard…during those times of joy and those of suffering.

At the moment of our greatest anguish we can say with Jesus, “This is why I came to this hour. Father glorify your name!” We see the whole of our life as an opportunity to make much of Him. Anything less is a tragedy. To live for anything less than the glory of God is ultimately tragic.

The whole world, Jew and Gentile alike would be drawn to Jesus because of what He was doing in the Cross. Salvation was coming to mankind through His suffering. He would glorify the Father, the father would glorify Him and the world would see God’s salvation. Jesus encourages His hearers to see it and believe it!

We say the same. Believe while you can! Believe the witness of our life!

He Understands

Jesus understands this world and He does so experientially. He literally experienced the emotional trials which come from being a human being. He suffered and in doing so taught us how to take offer our suffering to God for His glory and the benefit of the world.

When we suffer we may glorify God, be a testimony to grace and the reality of new life in Christ. We may make much of Jesus and be a part of revealing His character and power to a lost world in need of His salvation.

Jesus understands us and it matters…Jesus knows life is hard and often seemingly impossible. He knows life hurts and sometimes the hurt is so deep it feels as though we might suffocate. He knows this because He felt these emotions Himself!

Thank God we have the picture of how Jesus dealt with these moments in life so that we too might participate in His great work of salvation in the world.